The Nate and Sully friendship
by Supernatural-Superhero
Summary: Starting from day two, the Nate and Sully friendship keeps progressing on.
1. Chapter 1

Day two of the Nate and Sully friendship.

He looked shifty. Always glancing around, like he expected someone to jump on his back and drive a knife through his heart. It seems like his line of work didn't come without some dangers. When he looked at Nate, he sensed something was going to happen between the two of them. Something he sensed as an adventure. He didn't know where the kid's parents were. Nate himself didn't seem to care. The kid was a great big mystery and Sully didn't have any of the clues. The kid made Sully anxious; he didn't know anything about him. What if he was the offspring of a serial killer or something? Sully peered at Nate, who was chowing down the food in front of him quite happily. The kid didn't look dangerous. But Sully still didn't know anything about him. Where were the kids parents? Better yet, what had the kid meant when boarding school was a nice way to say it? Sully opened his mouth to ask when Nate interrupted. "Y'know, I've been doing fine on my own. It's not like I need you to do this." He said it quietly, like he couldn't believe he was saying it but something was forcing him to. His eyes shifted quickly to look in Sully's eyes before glancing away again. "Help me, I mean." Sully shut his mouth pretty quick and when Nate looked at him for an answer, Sully frowned.

"Kid, I'm doing this because you need help. I'll be damned if I knew how you survived this long." Nate flinched and Sully's quick eyes noticed. On impulse, Sully asked, "You know what? What are you doing alone anyways? Where are your parents?" The intrusive questions hung in the air and Sully instantly wanted to take them back. Nate looked down and played with the food in front of him. Sully judged about a minute had gone by, when he said, "Know what? Not my place to ask, kid." It sounded awkward in the air and Nate frowned. But Nate had embraced these awkward questions before and knew how to shrug them off.

"They're... somewhere. Haven't seen them in a while." The vague tone of Nate's voice bugged Sully. Why was the kid acting like he didn't give a damn? Sully picked up his beer and drank slowly, buying himself time to think of another question starter. He put the beer down, another question on his lips when Nate shoved his plate away. Nate looked around the bar before he leant forward. He leant real close, his elbows and hands flat on the table, and he wasn't sitting anymore. He was stuck between standing and sitting. "Everyone's always asking me about my parents. Who are they, where are they, all that crap. But y'know what? I honestly haven't seen them in a while and I can almost joke myself into thinking I don't have any. What I don't get, is why people care. I don't need them. I'm fine on my own." Nate leant back, obviously finished what he was saying. He crossed his arms over himself, defending himself from whatever Sully had to say. But he looked somewhat cocky. Though Sully suspected it wasn't something he meant to do. It was just something he could hide behind. Being cocky was his shield. Sully realised it hadn't failed so far. Sully leant forward, in the same way Nate had, but he bent low to keep eye contact with Nate. "I give a damn because... hell, just because. Kid, I want to make sure when I take you on, you're gonna respect me. You're gonna have to show me another feeling aside from cockiness, otherwise you'll be lying to the next person about how swell you've been doing on your own. We clear?" Sully leant back and took another slug of his beer. Nate looked fascinated. Like someone had just found out a dirty secret of his, which he didn't know he had. He opened his mouth, but shut it again. He looked like he was thinking about this arrangement, like he didn't want to screw it up. "Sully, I'm not cocky." He shrugged, but looked away confessing, "I just call it like I see it." Sully grabbed hold of his beer bottle, seeking comfort in the content. "And I could do with one of those, you know." Sully met Nate's eyes and Nate raised his eyebrows in a challenge. Sully chuckled and rose from his seat, the awkwardness quickly shrugged off between them.

"C'mon kid, let's get out of here before you make me buy you the whole bar." Nate looked pleased with himself, but when Sully started to walk towards the door announced, "No seriously, I could do with one!" Sully grinned and held the door open for Nate. Nate walked out of the bar and looked at Sully, waiting for him to say where they were going to go next. Sully looked back at him, waiting for the same thing. They simultaneously said, "Where's the car?" Nate laughed, clutching his sides. Sully looked confused, looking around for the car like he'd just realised his child had gone missing.

"Nate. Stop laughing. Where's the damn car?" Sully kept looking around in disbelief. He looked at Nate who was wiping tears from his face. "Nate. Shut up. What's so funny?" Sully didn't look at him while he was talking, he just kept looking around.

"Nothing. It's just... should have known that after one day of knowing you it was all going to start going crap." Nate cleared his throat, and stood up properly. He looked more serious now, and was looking around with Sully. "Okay, are we sure we left it here?" Sully just looked at him, like it was blatantly obvious that the car was _freaking parked there! _Nate shrugged. "Looks like we're going to have to walk. You spent all your money on cigars. I told you not to." Shaking his head, Nate started walking back to the motel, Sully trailing behind him. Nate could hear Sully murmuring 'car' repeatedly, but just smiled. Nate was waiting for his luck to do a 180. It always happens. "But... my car..." Sully looked lost. Nate patted Sully on the back.

"It's okay, Sully. We'll get a new one."

"But... my car..." Nate chuckled under his breath. He realised he was happy. It was rare. But he was happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Day four of the Nate and Sully friendship

Sully jumped out of his sleep, opening his eyes wide, his heart racing erratically. He wiped his eyes, both attempting – and failing – to clear them. Suddenly, he heard what had pulled him out of sleep. _Nate._ _Something's wrong with Nate._ Sully put down the beer bottle he had been holding whilst sleeping, with an absent mind, and raced into Nate's room. Nate was tossing and turning, while randomly shouting out inaudible words. Sully ran over to his bed, and shook Nate's shoulders. "Nate? Nate, goddamn it, wake up! Nate!" Sully exasperatedly tried to wake Nate up, getting worried that something was seriously wrong with him. Nate suddenly gasped; sitting up so fast that Sully had to blink a couple of times to make sure he was actually up.

"S-Sully?" Nate was gasping repeatedly, putting a hand over his heart. He groaned, "Ugh, crap. I did it again." He moved to lean against bed frame, clearing his throat. He wiped his eyes and pulled the bedcovers up to his chin. Nate refused to look at Sully, preferring instead to look at the off-white coloured wall. Sully just stared at him, flabbergasted. Nate peeked out of the corners of his eyes and sighed. He tensed his shoulders, relaxed and looked at Sully properly. "What's wrong?" He asked Sully politely, smiling at him. Sully just watched him, his mouth partially open, his heart still racing.

"What's wrong?" Sully questioned, dumbfounded. "Kid, what the hell just happened?" Sully's tone made Nate flinch and he met Sully's eyes, the look of defeat written across his face.

"I-I was just dreaming" Nate faltered. He tried to smile at Sully, but the smile never quite made it to his lips. Sully just looked at him. "I was just dreaming. It's not that weird. I was sleeping and everything." Nate was getting defensive because Sully still hadn't said anything. Nate started getting uncomfortable under Sully's stare and began fidgeting.

"Stop being such a smart ass. Kid, what in the hell were you dreaming about?" Sully asked him, curiosity shaping his words. Nate coiled in anger. He stood up abruptly, showing Sully that he had fallen asleep in one of Sully's shirts and jeans.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Kid, just wait a goddamn minute-"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" Nate interrupted and opened his bedroom door, a gesture that clearly told Sully to get the hell out of there. Sully rose slowly, trying to work out how the conversation had progressed to this point. He shrugged and walked slowly to the door, giving him time to say what he wanted to say.

"Alright kid. When you want to talk about it, you'll know where I'll be. I'm not gonna push you. But remember, what we have here, this friendship we have going here, is built on trust and communication." Sully stopped in front of Nate, looking down at him. Sully finished softly, "So trust and communicate." Sully left the room, hearing the door shut behind him. He went back to lie on the couch. Sully pondered over what had just happened, whilst dozing in and out of sleep.

**_Later that night_**

Nate was sitting in his room, unable to sleep, listening to the sound of Sully's snores. Nate sighed, leaning against the wall that the bed was against. One thing Nate had learned about himself was that he hated sleeping. Sleeping meant less time to explore and more time dreaming. Nate didn't see the difference between nightmares and dreams. He dreamed about his dad deciding he couldn't beat anything into Nate, so he decided that the best thing to do was to dump him. So that's what he did. Drove Nate a few miles out of town, right up to the orphanage and dumped him on the door. He dreamed of his birthdays in the orphanage and how they were shit. He dreamed about how no one seemed to notice him, until he did something wrong. But he also dreamed about his friends in the orphanage. He dreamed about how he told them he was going to become a hero. He dreamed about the first time he read a Latin book and how everyone had stared at him, amazed. Dreaming was awful for Nate. Dreaming meant he actually had something worth dreaming about. Nate didn't like the fact that he had experiences in his life worth dreaming about. He liked to think he was a tough guy. Can you think of a tough guy that had actually had a good experience in their lives? Nate snorted. The people he used to read about, the people he looked up to, they were the people Nate wanted to dream about. Not himself. He always tried to wake himself up upon realising he was dreaming about himself. As if his subconscious was actually throwing Nate out of his dreams. Unfortunately for Sully, he happened to be there whilst Nate was dreaming. Nate shifted uncomfortably. He was thinking about everything Sully had done for him in the last couple of days. Found him, looked after him, gave up his bed for Nate in the motel for Gods sale. Nate got up, and before he could think himself out of it, went to go find Sully's sleeping form. "Sully?" Nate whispered to Sully, trying to wake him up easy. Sully murmured in his sleep, making Nate smile. He waited a few seconds to see if Sully was actually going to wake up and, when he didn't, tried again. "Sully? Sully! Wake up!" Nate said it sharply, getting impatient, the mission he was currently on seeming more and more like a failure. "Sully!" Nate punched Sully in the arm, making Sully's eyes pop open.

"What, what?! Jesus, kid, you're gonna give me a goddman heart attack. What's wrong?" Sully sat upright, making space for Nate on the couch. Nate sat down, teetering on the edge.

"I'm trying to", Nate made the quoting finger gestures, "trust and communicate." Nate dropped his hands and nodded to himself in affirmation, making sure he wanted to go through with it.

"Oh, kid, I wasn't trying to make you feel like you should do it now. I get that these things take time and-"

"Sully, I can't trust and communicate when you keep trying to talk me out of it." Nate interrupted, a cocky, sly smile painted across his lips.

"Right. Sorry." Sully quickly amended. "What do you want to tell me?" Nate turned to look at him fully, meeting Sully's eyes.

"I want to tell you about me. I might as well tell someone before I die." Nate started chuckling. "This is like one of those cheesy programmes." His tone turned mocking, but Sully could see his eyes never strayed from serious. "I'm Nathan Drake." Nate's tone went back to normal. "And this is my story."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, Chanté here! I just want to thank you for the lovely reviews you guys have given me. You're all awesome!**

**Just so you know, I'm English. As Uncharted is set in with American characters and all that jazz, I try and change things from English to American, like I changed shops to stores. If you guys see anything and you're a bit like confused or you have any pointers for me, let me know! I also accept request! If you guys want a particular day in their lives that you want to read about, just let me know! **

**Okay, back to the story! **

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Day twelve of the Nate and Sully friendship

Nate and Sully were shopping. Neither of them particularly knew how to navigate through a shopping mall, but they had both woken up that morning on a mission. They were going to buy clothes, even if it killed them. The fact that they were still in Cartagena meant it probably would. They were going to leave come sundown. They would have left sooner, but they had to get some sort of clothing, since Nate only had what Sully found him in and Sully only carried about a week's worth of clothing. Trying to share that between them was not working for either of them. So shopping was on the agenda today. They stood outside what they thought to be an outlet mall, looking at each other. With a simultaneous nod, they strolled through the double doors. The urge to turn around and run the hell out of there was almost too much for Sully. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Nate was shoving his way through the mass of people, his mind set that today was the day that he (ahem, Sully) bought new clothes. Sully hurried after Nate. "Hold up, Kid. You have no idea where you're going. We need to plan this out." Sully looked worried and uncomfortable, constantly making eyes for the double doors. Nate just shook his head.

"No way. I give you time to think, I give you time to leave. We're going to shop. C'mon." Nate casually grabbed Sully's arm, but Sully knew it was a difficult gesture for Nate to make. Nate tried to avoid long periods of body contact. Scratch that. He got uncomfortable after just a second of body contact. He was so used to hiding and making himself invisible, that when Sully actually tried to touch him whether it be a high five or, God forbid, a victory hug, Nate went pale. So when Nate grabbed Sully's arm, Sully was so surprised that he didn't try to stop Nate from pulling him into a store called 'Charted Clothing'. ('Clothes that put you on the map!') Nate beelined for the jeans. Seemed to Sully like Nate had a thing for jeans. Sully watched Nate linger wistfully around them before turning away. Nate walked around the store twice before picking up a basket. To Sully's surprise, Nate picked clothes out for Sully first.

"Whoa, whoa, Kid. What about clothes for yourself?" Sully questioned Nate, making Nate pause and look down into the basket.

"I-I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about myself." Nate pondered over that, before going over to the jeans, picking up a few pains and deposited them in the basket. "There, Sully," Nate said cheekily, "Clothes for me too." Nate smiled at Sully, before resuming shopping. Sully had half a gaze on Nate, half a gaze on the exits, making sure they were safe. Sully watched as a cute brunette teenager walked in with her mom. Nate happened to walk past the girl, instantly capturing her interest. She was staring at him, while he walked around the store. Nate practically danced over to Sully, lunging every so often to pick up another article of clothing. Sully could see the overflowing baskets (when had he picked up the other three? Sully wondered) smiling sheepishly.

"Kid, don't look now, but that dame is sure interest in you." Nate looked up at Sully, fear obvious on his face.

"No she's not." Nate sounded desperate, looking into Sully's eyes for reassurance. Sully chuckled before jerking his head in the girl's direction. Nate whipped his head around to look at the girl. She smiled tentatively at Nate, accompanying it with a little wave. Nate's eyes widened in fear. He turned his head back around, surprising Sully that he didn't give himself whiplash, and kept his eyes on the ground. Sully wasn't sure whether to find it funny or sad.

"Kid, tell me you've dated a dame before." Sully pleaded Nate and Nate returned the plead with a frightened stare.

"I don't think I've ever spoken to one." Nate whispered.

"No way. Kid, I figured you for a dame in every museum kind of guy." Sully stifled a chuckle.

"Don't I wish" Nate muttered.

"Hold on, you spoke to Marlowe." Sully recalled. Nate shuddered.

"Yeah, but she was a bitch! I didn't really talk to her anyway. I just tried to say something that would make her go away." Nate explained. He exasperatedly finished with: "She didn't even like me! How am I supposed to talk to someone pretty who likes me?" Nate looked miserable.

"Look, it's easy. Just go over and say hello." Sully kindly explained. Nate just looked at Sully, the fear so resonant of his face that Sully knew he had to get rid of this fear now. Nate's knuckles were white from where he was holding one of the baskets handles like it was a lifeline. Sully peered around the store. He could see the girls eyes kept darting over to look at Nate. Suddenly, Sully had an idea. "Oh, Nate, would you look at that? You forgot the socks!" Sully declared. Nate looked into the baskets and then looked around the store, fearing the worst. Nate's shoulders sagged, looking at the socks which were so inconveniently situated behind the girl. Sully chuckled. "Looks like you can give her a quick hello as we walk on by." Sully started walking off towards the socks, but on a route that would clash with the girls. Nate scampered after him; his shoulders slumped in utter defeat. Once they were close enough, Sully started slowing down. Nate was whispering beside Sully, trying to give himself advice, his eyes never straying from the ground. Sully nudged him. Nate looked up, the fear in his eyes essentially punching Sully in the face. Sully had never seen anybody look so scared. Sully nodded encouragement at Nate. Nate turned and looked at the girl. His shoulders tensed and Sully knew his breath had caught in his throat. Nate managed a 'hello', to which she replied with a smiled 'hi'. Nate looked away immediately, looking straight ahead. He exhaled, like a giant weight had been taken off of his shoulders. "Holy crap." Sully heard Nate murmur, which caused Sully to laugh. Sully's laugh was loud and contagious and Nate joined in too. Sully added a few pairs of socks to the baskets for good measure.

"You did good, kid! You're a natural." Sully figured he should try to up Nate's ego and self esteem, and Nate glowed in return.

"I don't- no. I really don't want to do that again." Nate looked instantly calmer, which caused Sully to laugh again.

"Just you wait until even your fear of dames won't stop you talking to a beauty, kid." Sully chuckled and walked with Nate to the checkout. "Just you wait."


	4. Chapter 4 Part 1

Day twenty-three of the Nate and Sully friendship

Nate and Sully were in Oregon. Sully had a few old acquaintances he had to run some business by, but they had the day off. Nate intended to make the most of it. There were thousands of things he'd never seen, and he was adamant he would before he died. Sully had shown him a few things here and Nate had taken it all in, eyes wide and mind open. Now it was night. Sully and Nate were kindred spirits, they both enjoyed night better than day. Nate loved the feeling of mystery the night brought, whereas Sully loved watching the stars. The stars were out tonight, shining in their clusters. Sully couldn't help pointing constellations out to Nate every once in a while. Nate just nodded, taking it in, but Sully knew that it probably went in one ear and out the other. The pair walking down the street, currently making their way over to the town. It was about 19:30, and the streets were empty.

"Whoa, kid, did you just see that?" Sully put an arm out in front of Nate, making Nate immediately stop. He looked at Sully, who was looking up at building. Nate followed Sully's pointed stare and saw Sully was looking up at a building. Nate followed Sully's pointed stare and saw Sully was looking up at something gleaming, situated on a roof. Nate was confused how it had gotten up there, but looked away uninterested and almost resumed walking. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that Sully was still staring. After standing there for a few more seconds and making the very right assumption that Sully was not going to budge, Nate rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his jacket. "Kid, what are you doing?" Sully queried, clocking all of Nate's movements. Nate's eyebrows knitted.

"I'm going to go check it out for you." Nate looked a bit puzzled, wondering why Sully even asked since it was pretty obvious. Sully raised his eyebrows, taking a step back and sweeping a hand forward, showing Nate that he was going to watch. Nate tilted his head. He walked over to the wall closest to them and, after surveying it, began to climb. He did it quickly, his eyes used to finding crevices in the wall perfect for climbing. Sully looked back at the gleaming object, lit a cigar which he promptly began to smoke, before peering at Nate. After glancing around and seeing the street was empty, he looked back up. Nate was almost up two storeys now. Sully looked past Nate, wondering if he would have climbed the same route as him. Probably. Sully was staring at one of those street signs that protrudes out of the wall. The sign was made of metal, as well as being heavily rusted. Sully could see that what used to be black metal was now a heavily rusted brown. The sign was directing people to Main Street. It looked quite heavy. Sully looked back at Nate, who was about to climb onto a metal pole sticking out of the wall. Nate would then swing onto the sign. Speaking of Nate, Sully saw how quickly and efficiently Nate did all of this, like he'd been doing it for years. But Sully knew he hadn't, Nate had told him that he had only been doing the whole climbing thing for a couple of months. Nate's upper body strength impressed Sully, because for someone who'd only been climbing for a couple of months, Nate could kick most people's ass at it. Sully felt a twinge of pride in his heart, almost like he'd been the one to teach Nate what to do and now he watched his new protégé in action. Truth be told, Sully had only taught him a thing or two so far. Nate was already very good. Nate wanted to learn from Sully, in fact he was eager to, and the fact that Sully was a treasure hunter sparked a lot of interest in the kid. Sully smiled, but snapped himself out of his thoughts before delving further and began to look at the sign, scrutinizing it. He looked at the screws closely peering at the heavily rusted screws, realizing that they were too damaged and they definitely weren't going to be able to hold Nate's weight. Sully switched back to Nate quickly, his heart suddenly feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. "No, Nate, wait!" Sully ran forward, arms outstretched, watching Nate swing to the sign. Nate made the swing and looked down at Sully confused. The sign suddenly snapped and fell. Nate fell too. They fell two storeys and landed hard, the unmistakable sound of bones breaking proving the land. The sign had fallen on top of Nate. "Shit! Nate? Nate" Sully shouted, running over to him. He threw his cigar away in a desperate movement. It took Sully a couple seconds more than he would have liked, but he got the sign off of Nate. The sign had proven to be ridiculously heavy. "Nate? Kid, get up! Nate!" Sully's heart was racing a mile a minute. He fumbled in his pocket, his hands shaking, but he managed to get his cell out. He dialled the hospital.


	5. Chapter 4 Part 2

**This chapter is dedicated to Mickeys Swaggmuffins, who took the idea straight out of my head. Enjoy and keep on reading!**

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Day 24 of the Nate and Sully friendship

Nate opened his eyes to a bright light, winced and closed them straight away. God, his head was pounding. His skull felt like it'd been cracked in half. He opened his eyes slowly, squinting at first, before opening his eyes fully. He looked down at himself, seeing his arm in a cast and sling. "Oh shit!" He exclaimed, crystal clear, not thinking anyone else was in the room. He heard a laugh and looked to his right. Sully was sitting by his bedside, chuckling. "Kid, you did quite a number on yourself. A broken arm, three broken ribs, a concussion, a twisted and severely bruised knee. Bruised to the bone, in fact. Couple'a marks on your face. Various other cuts and bruises. You'll have me pushing you around in a wheelchair for a few days. Doctors keep telling me you got off easy. That you are real lucky. And the first thing you say when you wake up is 'oh shit'. Damn right, oh shit." Sully sobered and peered down at Nate. "Kid, you almost gave me a goddman heart attack." Nate looked down at himself again. Sully waited, as if expecting some sort of reaction out of Nate, but Nathan Drake doesn't cry and he sure as hell wasn't going to now. God, his body hurt. Hadn't these people ever heard of morphine?

"I meant to check out that stupid thing for you, Sully." Nate frowned down at himself. "I can't get it now. Sorry." Sully just looked at him.

"Kid, I prefer you safe more than some small treasure. Surely you realised that when I stopped Marlowe?" Sully stopped, catching himself. He started again. "You should have seen yourself. That sign was heavy as hell, took me a few seconds to get if off. But I did and I dialled here." Sully indicated the room and grinned at Nate. "I saved your ass again." Nate grinned back, even though it hurt his lip to do so. He could feel the damage the sign had done to his face. Nate shifted to make himself more comfortable, tensed because it hurt like a bitch, and then fought through the pain. What made Nate wonder, was the fact that even though he was in a lot of pain, he was ridiculously sleepy.

Once relaxed he asked, "What're the nurses like here?" Sully's eyes sparkled. Nate laughed, shook his head and looked fondly at Sully who returned to look. "You're a dirty old man, Sullivan." Nate fell asleep, a smile on his face, listening to the sound of Sully's soft laughter.

_**Later that day**_

"Hey, kid? Nate, wake up? Nate?" Sully tried to wake Nate up gently, smiling at the thought of Nate's laughter when he showed him the surprise. Sully had seen the guy walking around earlier, and since he was walking down the hall Nate was in, Sully knew Nate would want to be awake for the show. Nate groaned and opened his eyes, the bluish grey piercing Sully's eyes.

"Ugh, what is it? What's happening?" Nate asked groggily, trying to become alert, but the morphine wouldn't let him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened the again, clearing his throat. "Sully? What's going on?" Sully almost answered, but there was a knock at the door. Nate's eyebrows knitted as he watched Sully go to the door, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Nate tried to sit up, but did it slowly, watching Sully open the door. Nate let out a strangled scream as he saw who was there. The clown walked in with a huge smile on his face, the smile amplified by the red makeup around his mouth. The standardised red clown nose on his face, green makeup around his eyes. Nate tried to say something to Sully, who was standing there smiling but confused, alarm on his face like a light in a lighthouse. The clown moved over to Nate, whose eyes were so wide Sully was surprised Nate didn't look inhumane.

"Why, hello there little guy! What have you done to yourself?" The clown chuckled, which caused Nate to press against the pillows in the bed with his back as if trying to hide himself, then resumed. "What are you hiding for? Come out here! Let's move those pillows off of your bed." The clown was attempting to make some kind of conversation and moved to the bed to pull the pillows out from behind Nate. When he leant in close, Nate let out a small cry. The clown looked quizzically at Nate, and leant back. "What's wrong, little guy? What's your name?" Sully was watching this all unfold; almost shocked at the fact Nate was so scared. Nate was staring at the clown, his eyes opened wide. The ECG had gone up dramatically. Sully tiptoed over to Nate, who refused to take his eyes off the clown and was frozen in fear. The clown was waiting for Nate to answer. Sully stepped in.

"His name is Nate. I'm not sure what's wrong with him, maybe he feels a little ill. I think you should just head on to the next room." The clown nodded at Sully.

"Yeah, maybe you're right. It was nice to meet you, Nate." The clown stuck his hand out for Nate, which Nate didn't even look at. He was clearly watching the clowns face. Nate was still pressed against the pillows. The clown cleared his throat put his hand back at his sides. He smiled at Sully and left the room.

"Nate? Kid, what's wrong? You don't like clowns?" Sully questioned Nate, who had his eyes on the door. He looked slightly more relaxed, which was pretty easy since Nate was sitting as if he's been electrocuted the whole time the clown was there. Nate fixed his eyes on Sully's.

"Is he gone? He isn't coming back is he? Holy crap, he might come back. Go and check he isn't going to. He's gone right? He must be gone. He's been gone for about a minute. I don't think he's coming back. Maybe you should check. Go check. Go!" Nate spoke almost under his breath, but he was clearly directing what he said at Sully. Sully was taken aback, not quite sure what to do, Nate was looking at him with a dangerous look on his face. Sully went to the door and looked out, looking around to see that the clown wasn't there.

"He's gone, Nate." Nate exhaled a huge breath; Sully could feel it across the room. "I didn't know you don't like clowns." Sully watched Nate snap his head up.

"I don't mind clowns. What're you talking about?" Nate was the picture of innocence. Sully knew that just from what he'd said, he was going to always deny how scared he just was. Nate wiggled in his bed, making himself comfortable again. "Do you know if this place has any jello?" Nate raised his brow, waiting for an answer. Sully chuckled, deciding not to talk about this again for a while.

"I'll go have a look." Sully walked towards the door.

"No! No, that's okay. I'm not hungry. You don't have to leave." Nate's ECG spiked again. Sully chuckled under his breath. Looked like Nate was still afraid the clown would come back.

"You may not be hungry, but I am. Be back soon, kid. Don't worry; I'll bring you some anyways." Sully opened to door and left, leaving Nate to sit there, the bed covers pulled up to cover his eyes.


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi guys, Chanté here. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. If you saw the amount of homework I have... then you'd just see the amount of homework I have. Anyhow, enjoy this chapter. And keep your ideas coming!**

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Day 30 of the Nate and Sully friendship

Nate sighed, sitting on a couch in Vancouver. His cased arm was aching and he was beginning to wish he'd brought his sling. Nate was sitting in a waiting room of sorts, whilst Sully spoke to a shady person in need of an artefact in the room next door. Sully was speaking to everybody and anybody who said they were hiring, since Nate's trip to the hospital had cost him a pretty penny. But at the moment, Sully was grasping straws. Nate winced in recoil of his sigh, his ribs still hurting. His headache from his concussion was easing back in, buzzing in his ear, and staring at the plain white walls was doing nothing to help. Nate heard Sully and his acquaintance laugh in the next room, but it faded smoothly. Nate looked down at his cast. While resting from the accident, Nate asked Sully to bring markers back to the run down motel they were staying in whenever he went out. Since Sully felt responsible for Nate's current state, he went out and bought back a huge variety of colours. Nate became almost obsessed with drawing on his cast, making it beautiful and colourful. When Nate went out, he saw people nudging each other eyeing his cast, he drew a lot of attention. He wasn't drawing the attention because he was a broken kid in a wheel-chair; he was drawing it in because he was a spark in a crowded place. He'd drawn artefacts from the Cartagena museum, he'd drawn Sully's stolen car and he'd drawn places like he'd imagined them in his head. While Nate personally thought he didn't do the images justice, Sully was amazed at Nate's artistic talent. He kept complimenting him, saying: "Kid, you've got the talent of a prodigy!" and "You're a natural!" While Nate did love the compliments, as he was staring at his cast he thought it was untrue. He didn't feel like he was a natural at anything. His ego had done a massive 180 when he had his accident. Whilst looking down at his broken bones, Nate felt like a washout. Nate adjusted himself as he tried to make himself more comfortable. In the next room, he heard Sully finishing up. Nate tried to stand up, catching himself when he almost fell. Nate grit his teeth, refusing to put any pressure on his sore knee. Sully's acquaintance opened the door, holding the door for Sully. Sully looked at Nate, then the door, cluing Nate in that they were getting the hell out of there. Sully looked uneasy to Nate, but his male acquaintance didn't seem to notice anything. Nate picked up his crutch and hobbled to the front door.

"Well, Sullivan, if you want the job it's all yours. It won't be ready for a couple of weeks, so I'll give you a call when it's ready. Yeah?" The man Sully had been talking to asked Sully for an answer.

"Yeah, I'll take you up on that offer. A couple of weeks? I'll be waiting for a call." Sully nodded at the man and turned away, looking at Nate instead. Sully raised his eyebrows, watching Nate try to stand comfortably. "C'mon Nate. Let's go." Sully waved a goodbye to his new boss and opened the door for Nate. Nate limped out, heavily leaning on his crutch for support. Nate's good arm was hurting more and more everyday, because Nate was constantly putting his weight on it. Sully knew better that to offer help to Nate, he knew Nate's pride wasn't going to let him sit in a wheelchair while Sully pushed him around. Sully walked with Nate, slowly, so Nate didn't have to rush.

"Who was that?" Nate asked out of curiosity. Sully chuckled.

"I have no idea. He said his name before he told me his life story. Which was really long, by the way." Sully looked down at Nate, who was laughing softly.

"What point did it get good?" Nate asked.

"When it finished!" Sully replied, causing the two to erupt in laughter. Sully's stomach grumbled loud, making the two pause and then laugh even more. When they both calmed down, Sully spoke again. "We should go and get some grub, kid. I think there's a McDonalds here somewhere. C'mon." Sully guided Nate to the fast food restaurant. Even when it started to rain, Sully and Nate walked at the same pace, simply because Sully didn't want Nate to be uncomfortable. They finally got to the McDonalds and Nate stopped at the door. He looked around, his eyes wide, taking in the scenery. Sully waited for Nate to resume walking, he was used to Nate's surprise when he looked at new things that were common to everybody else. Nate walked up to Sully, and they walked to the counter together.

"May I help you?" A woman offered, speaking loud to be heard over the racket of the other workers behind her.

"Yeah, can I have two McDoubles, large fries..." He turned to Nate, "You're alright with a coke, right?" Nate nodded in amazement, listening to Sully. "And two large cokes." Sully turned away from the counter as the worker walked away to issue his order. "Nate, can you go find us a table?"

"'Kay." Nate mumbled, walking away in a daze. He found a table and sat at it, trying to be careful as he flopped into the seat. An older boy in the booth next to him turned to look at him and did a double take.

"Awesome cast, man! Where'd you get it?" The boy looked in fascination at Nate.

"I, uh, I did it. I drew on it."

"No way! Guys, look at this! He drew the pictures!" The group on teenagers the boy was sitting with all turned to look at Nate's cast. They all bustled round Nate to stare at his cast. They all complimented him, but once Sully joined Nate, they turned away.

"Am I interrupting something, kid?" Sully asked.

"Nah, not really, they were just looking at my cast." Nate replied, looking down at it.

"Well, it is a work of art, kid." Sully said, handing Nate his meal. Nate looked at it for a few seconds, then watched Sully open everything. Nate copied Sully, unwrapping his burger. Sully bit into his, chewing, whilst Nate watched. Nate then did the same. He seemed unable to hide his pleasure.

"Holy crap!" He announced, causing people in the restaurant to look at Nate. He cleared his throat, and they looked away uninterested, a few murmuring about him for a couple of seconds.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Nothing!" Nate replied, shoving the chips and burger into his mouth, almost at the same time. Sully chuckled, not quite sure what to make of Nate. "What's this place called?" Nate asked.

"McDonalds." Sully replied, trying to stifle a smile.

"Well, this is good." Nate said, waving his food around at Sully. "You should stop attempting to cook and just bring me here." Nate cheekily suggested, causing Sully to bark out laughter.

"You may be right about that, kid." Sully replied, smiling at Nate's happiness.


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, Chanté here. I had a few requests for this chapter, so I hope I did it justice. Enjoy and all that stuff. **

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Day thirty-nine of the Nate and Sully friendship

Nate gasped back sweet oxygen, trying to stop his body from shuddering. His stomach turned, causing Nate to fight back the bile rising in his throat. He could feel sweat dripping his hair matting his hair, but he couldn't get warm. He groaned, pulling the blanket up over his face, instantly regretting it once his oxygen supply had lowered. He stuck his face out, sucking down air. "Nate! C'mon, we have to go." Nate heard Sully call for him, and feebly tried to roll out of the bed. Sully heard a soft 'ahh!' and a thud; causing him to run across the motel, gun on the inside of his pants feeling like a huge weight. He ran into Nate's room, hand on his gun. He looked around, confused, until he saw Nate on the floor, in a fetal position. The kid had enough sense, if that's what you could call it, to land on his good arm. Sully knew the impact must have been rough on his ribs, since Nate was wheezing. Plus, he was going to have a problems getting up with his knee, although it was healing quite nicely. "Jesus, kid. C'mon, give me your hand." Sully stuck a hand out, and Nate grabbed it. The ice cold grasp Sully felt shocked him. "Whoa, kid, what's wrong? You're like ice!" Nate wheezed a chuckle at that. Sully pulled him up.

"I feel like crap!" He announced, a smile on his lips. The declarative statement was not a surprise to Sully. While peering at Nate, he could see that Nate was, in fact, looking like crap too. Sully started to help him to the bed, but Nate stopped him. "Wh- wh- where you taking me? The TV is in the other room!" Nate sputtered, questioning Sully. Sully outright laughed, something that seemed to happen more and more frequently with Nate around.

"Sorry kid. What was I thinking?" Sully regarded Nate, and Nate shook his head.

"You weren't thinking." Nate added, causing Sully to laugh again. Sully felt Nate relax against him, making Sully smile. Nate was becoming more and more comfortable in the company of Sully, and since when they met Nate barely touched him, Sully felt like he had achieved something great. Sully regarded trust as something valuable, because there were so few people who he trusted and who trusted him. Nate leant on Sully and they hobbled to the couch in the main room. Nate collapsed onto the couch, sniffling. "Tissue?" Nate asked, smiling up at Sully in hope. Sully rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom, retrieved the tissues and passed them to Nate. The kid looked like death. Sully momentarily moved back, scared of catching this sickness. Sully hadn't been ill for years; he couldn't even remember what it was like. Now he had a companion, he was at risk of more that he cared to think about. Sully took a moment to think about it, but then Nate coughed. He kept coughing, looking up at Sully first to reassure Sully it was just a cough and then desperately to ask for help. Nate was literally choking on air. Sully patted Nate on the back to help, but he apparently hit a rib because Nate suddenly juddered away. "Damn, sorry kid!" Sully apologised, but Nate just spared him a glance over his coughing. Sully went into the motel kitchen, filled up a glass of water, and then gave it to Nate. Nate took a huge gulp and then rasped a thank you.

"Kid, sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but you're sick." Sully announced. Nate just threw a look at Sully.

"Oh, that's what it is? Thought I was the picture of health." Nate retorted, sarcasm coating his words. Sully smirked at Nate after he sneezed.

"That's karma." Sully grinned. Nate just ignored him, attempting to find the TV remote. His cased arm was preventing him from being able to search the couch fully, and Sully could see Nate frowning in anger. "Kid, let me look." Sully suggested, but Nate shook him off.

"Look, I don't want you to miss out on whatever the hell it was you were going to make me do this morning. Go and do that. I'll still be ill when you come back." Nate replied, not wanting to be a burden. "And bring me back medicine. I want to live to see my fifteenth."

Sully chuckled, but shook his head. "I'll take you up on the medicine, but if you think I'm going to leave you hear to suffer, you've got another think coming." Nate began to argue, but when Sully motioned for Nate to move along the couch, Nate did as he was told. Sully found the remote, causing Nate to smile and settle down into a more comfortable position. Sully turned the TV on and flicked through the few channels it had, before settling for some sort of made for TV movie. Nate sniffled occasionally, but the two of them fell into a comfortable silence accented with infrequent banter. By the end of the film Nate had his head against Sully's arm, gently snoring. Sully thought about waking him and sending him to bed, but he didn't have the heart to wake up the tired kid. Sully pulled a jacket off the arm of the couch and laid it on Nate. Sully wriggled to get into a more comfortable position and tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling. He wondered how he'd gotten himself into this new lifestyle, but he didn't regret it. Meeting Nate was a turning point for Sully. He wanted to be a better person, to attempt a better, honest lifestyle, just because of this boy. Sully smiled up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. All this thinking had him beat. If the kid could sleep, so could he. So he did.


	8. Chapter 7

Day forty-one of the Nate and Sully friendship

"Nate?" Sully called, after checking Nate's motel room and discovering he wasn't there.

"Here!" Nate replied, the reply sounding like it came from the motel kitchen. Sully was slightly confused, wondering why the kid would be hanging out in the kitchen, but he went to go check it out. Sully walked into the open plan kitchen of the motel and saw Nate crowded around the table. He was looking down at something, whilst holding up little objects against the light with his casted hand. Sully walked around the table, looking at Nate's face. His brow was furrowed in concentration and he was staring down at the table. Sully looked down and saw Nate was attempting a puzzle. Sully chuckled, but Nate looked up at him with a look that made him stop. Nate wasn't angry or upset, he was the opposite. He looked absolutely calm and there was a hint of a smile on his lips, like he'd just seen something wonderful. "I've never seen one of these before. You're supposed to make a picture out of these little pieces. I think it's called a" Nate looked down at the puzzle box and attempted the word, "puzzle." He said it cautiously, trying out the new word. Sully cocked his head at the kid, unsure of what to say. He couldn't believe the kid had never seen a puzzle. Sully knew there was a lot the kid hadn't seen, but _a puzzle?_ What did the kids _do _back at Nate's old orphanage? Sully briefly pondered over where Nate got the puzzle, but let it go. He always seemed to have something new. Nate resumed the puzzle, but the look on his face had changed. He looked like he'd been expecting something, but had been let down. Sully watched him for a couple of seconds, then realised that Nate had probably been waiting for him to say something.

"What puzzle are you doing?" Sully asked. Nate handed Sully the box, barely taking his eyes off the puzzle. Sully looked down at the box and said "ah." Nate looked at him for a moment, the leant over to see what Sully had seen that he'd missed. "You know what this is, kid?" Sully questioned.

Nate shrugged and replied, "a big wheel?" causing Sully to chuckle.

"No, kid, this is the London Eye. Behind it is Big Ben. You know in America we have the President?" Nate narrowed his eyes, trying to think and nodded. "In England, where this is, they don't have a President. They have a royal family and Parliament. They run everything. Behind Big Ben are the houses of Parliament. See?" Sully pointed at the box, indicating everything he'd explained. Nate look amazed for a couple of seconds, but quickly controlled his face.

"Wha-" Nate croaked, the rapidly cleared his throat, his voice sounding normal again when he resumed. "What's the eye thing do?" He tried not to look interested, thinking he should play it cool.

"It just goes around and around all day and night, so you can see the whole of London. I've only been once, it was night, but it was pretty amazing." Sully leant back, lost in the memory. Nate was jealous of Sully, who was able to tell these stories.

"I'm going to go there someday." Nate announced, determined. "I'm going to go there and start my own expedition." Sully nodded at Nate, the look on his face showing Nate that he believed he could do it. After a few moments, Nate went back to his puzzle.

"I'm going out for a minute, Nate." Sully suddenly claimed. "I'll be right back." Nate nodded, but hid his face from Sully. Sully grabbed his keys and left, knowing he had to be quick because Nate had some sort of issue with people leaving him alone. Sully went out to the nearest post office and grabbed a whole bunch of postcards off the racks. He went around the store, taking things off the shelves and bundling them in his arms. He took anything with some sort of picture on. He went around to the candy section and picked up a four pack of cokes (because Nate adored them) and some assorted candy bars. He went to the till and paid, hurrying back to the motel. When Sully came back, Nate's face melted from being tense to calm. He watched Sully as he rushed back into his seat next to Nate, his excitement rubbing off on the kid. He handed Nate a coke, which made the kids face light up, and his choice of candy. Sully pulled out the postcards, with the same splendour a magician has when pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and showed Nate all the pictures. Sully began teaching the kid about history and geography and politics and other assorted subjects all at once, whilst Nate sat there with a look of wonder on his face. Nate ate his way through a whole lot of candy, and drank three of the four cokes since Sully let him do it. They sat like that for hours, until neither of them could think of anything else to say. But Nate felt like a genius once Sully had finished, the memory of everything Sully had said imprinted in his brain, ready for use whenever Nate saw fit. He felt like he had enough knowledge to go out and write a book. Truth be told, he probably only knew as much as a seventh grader knew. But at that moment in time, that was good enough for Nate.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys, Chanté here! I realised it's been ages since I updated and I apologise for that. To make up for it, I've uploaded two chapters! Please forgive me! And keep your ideas coming! **

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Day fifty-three of the Nate and Sully friendship

"Hey, Nate?" Sully asked hesitantly, as the two walked out of a fast food restaurant. They had just eaten their weight in salted goodness and they seemed pretty content that they had. Nate brushed his shaggy brown hair back from his eyes and looked up at Sully.

"Yeah?" Nate replied, curious as to why Sully sounded so cautious. Sully looked worried for a second, no doubt weighing the question in his mind and thinking of possible outcomes. When Sully was lying in bed last night, attempting to get some shut eye, the question crossed his mind and he realised he couldn't answer it.

"When is your birthday?" Sully questioned, caution ringing out in every letter. Nate looked down for a second, hiding his facial expression from Sully. Sully had to stop himself from taking back the question, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"I, uh, I don't know." Nate said, not looking up at Sully, which caused the older man to be afraid he'd misheard him. Sully almost asked him to repeat it, but Nate suddenly broke into abrupt laughter that held no humour. "That's crazy, isn't it? I don't actually know the date of my birth. I don't know anything about myself. I can just remember stupid little things." Nate kicked a stray soda can in anger and frustration, while Sully took that all in.

"When your father... left you in that orphanage, he didn't leave anything about you?" Sully asked incredulously. Nate just shook his head. "Have you ever celebrated it?" Sully asked, confused because he was sure Nate had told him about how much he hated his birthdays in the orphanage. Nate sighed.

"Yeah. But I don't know when I was born, so we didn't celebrate my birth. We celebrated the day I arrived at that crap hole." Nate had a lot of pent up resentment towards his father, which didn't surprise Sully but instead made him feel like he understood him more. Sully's father had been a lousy excuse for one, but whilst the Nate and Sully walked through the town it made him think if he would have preferred not to have one. Whilst watching Nate's despair over his lost identity, Sully had a feeling that he should be happy with the way his life had gone.

"Well, what day was that? Do you want to change your birthday to a day you want?" Sully asked. Nate looked up at him in surprise, but seemed to ponder over the question.

" I arrived at the orphanage on the 6th of August." Nate said slowly, as if contemplating what he was saying. "I've never really liked that day. Bad memories." Nate half smiled, as if he was letting Sully in on some inside joke. "But I remember my birthday being close to Christmas because my mom..." He paused, swallowing as if to hold something back. "She took down the Christmas decorations and my father didn't like that." Nate said it as if he was holding back information, but Sully understood.

"Jesus, kid." Sully whispered. Nate was quiet for a few moments.

"So, what day should I have?" Nate asked Sully abruptly. Sully almost replied to Nate that it wasn't something Sully should pick, but then stopped himself. For Nate to have given the ability to Sully to choose any day of the year and say that that was Nate's new birthday, it meant Nate had to like him, even trust him, a great deal. Sully stopped walking, which caused Nate to instantly stop too, and he watched the kid for a second. Nate raised his eyebrows at Sully, causing him to see Nate's bluish-grey eyes much better than usual. Sully racked his brains for a date to give to the kid, thinking of how Nate remembered that it was after Christmas so well.

"What do you say to the 24th of January?" Sully asked, watching Nate contemplate it. He laughed when Nate's eyes lit up in agreement. Nate nodded.

"Yeah... I like it! The 24th of January will be my new birthday." Nate seemed unable to wipe his happy grin off his face, causing Sully to laugh again. Nate looked up affectionately at Sully, which made Sully smile back.

"I'm not surprised you like it, kid, I happen to be an expert at picking great birthdays." Sully replied, causing Nate to push at his arm.

"Yeah, yeah, I bet that's what you say to all those barmaids in Peru." Nate's innuendo comeback was ready as soon as Sully had finished his sentence. Sully laid a hand on Nate's hair, moving his hand around quickly so Nate's hair seemed to go into some sort of frenzy. Nate shoved Sully away, his laughter ringing out around them. Nate swatted Sully's hand away with his casted arm, the other pushing Sully back so he'd have to reach further for Nate's hair.

"You should get your hair cut, kid. You'd look good. Dames would flock to you." Nate laughed again, which Sully smiled at.

"Goddamn it, kid, you're such a good looking child." Nate said, a spot on imitation of Sully, causing Sully to almost double over in laughter. "I'm sure you're a real expert in what all the ladies want, old man." Sully nodded, as if pondering over the words.

"Never had any complaints, kid."


	10. Chapter 10

**This chapter is for Loving Erik and Nate. Hope I did it justice!**

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Day fifty-five of the Nate and Sully friendship.

"Sully!" Nate yelled, getting a muffled call back in reply. Nate walked into the living room of the motel they were currently staying in and saw Sully had his face pressed up against the couch while he explored it looking for the remote. "We don't have anything to eat." To make a point, Nate's stomach made a noise not unlike the sound of a cat meowing for attention. Sully, who'd retrieved the remote, had flopped onto the couch and pondered over their dilemma.

"Well, kid, I can't go, I've got to meet up with my new boss." Nate vaguely remembered the shady man who had hired Sully a few weeks prior. Nate huffed. Sully rolled his eyes at the kid's antics and took out his wallet. "Listen, kid." I trust you. Here's some money." Sully handed Nate 60 dollars, much to the kid's surprise. "Go buy us _suitable_ food, enough to last us a few days at least." Sully said suitable in a way that stood out from any other word he'd ever said to the kid. Nate raised his eyebrows.

"Is coke classed as suitable?" Nate asked, just the right amount of cheek in his words. Sully chuckled.

"What else would you drink, kid? It's suitable enough." Sully replied, much to Nate's happiness. "C'mon kid, I'll walk with you to the store. It's on my way." Nate and Sully put on their coats and left. Nate had his own set of keys to the motel, which suited the two of them fine. Sully liked the kid to be independent and Nate liked to come and go as he pleased. As long as he came back before 9 o'clock, and stayed out of trouble, then Sully didn't mind. The two made their journey to the store, making sure they'd wrapped up to face the biting cold that was November. Sully and Nate held conversation throughout the journey, Nate making Sully laugh whilst he told him a story about something that happened to him when he was younger. They finally got to the store and Sully split off, leaving the kid to buy as much coke as he pleased. Although the store was only a few streets over, it'd felt like a long journey to Nate, so he told himself he'd make good on some alleyways he'd seen on the walk over. Nate walked around the store, picking up a whole bunch of edible looking things and stopped when he got to something he'd never seen. He picked them up and tried to read the label, pronouncing a word he'd never heard of. "Do-nuts." He whispered it, before adding them to his pile. He paid at the till and headed back to the motel. After about one street, his casted arm ached even though it had practically healed and he was getting the cast off in about a week or so. He saw one of the alleyways he was going to take, but skipped it. That was, until it started to rain like there was no tomorrow. Nate groaned and turned, heading down the alleyway that was providing cover from the rain. Damage had been done though, and his shaggy hair was plastered to his face making it difficult to see. He silently cursed Sully, for telling him to cut his hair. Something moved near Nate and he slowed for a second, before moving faster than he was before. Nate heard someone whistle near him, a bad feeling suddenly building in the pit of his stomach.

"Hey!" Nate almost kept walking, but three teenagers who were definitely older than him stepped out in front of him. He slowed to a stop; the bag feeling like it was weighing a lot more than it was a minute ago. They started to walk towards Nate, which caused him to tighten his grasp on the bags. The one in front started to speak. "Look guys, a little punk who's bought us some food. Good think too, I'm starving!" The other two tittered, amused with the thought of what they were about to do. They stopped, their aim to close the gap between them and Nate becoming more and more successful. Nate was pissed off. He had enough of being bullied in his life, he wasn't about to let this group of idiots try and bully him. Nate started to walk towards the boys, anger spilling out into his words.

"Hey." He matched the tone of the boy. "Look, it's a bunch of assholes trying to scare the crap out of some _punk_." He heavily emphasised the word punk. Nate's stride towards the boys had ended and they were only a few feet away now. The smirk that had previously been on their faces had gone without a trace and they were now dangerously staring at Nate. The group looked at each other for a moment, and then rushed Nate. He barely had enough time to drop the bags and put his arms up to his face in defence before the first hit. They pounded on him and Nate fought back with all he had. One tried to grab Nate, which he counteracted by pushing him to the floor. As soon as he did that, he was punched in the face. Nate could taste blood when he licked his lips. The boy had gotten back up again and kicked Nate in the stomach. His recently healed ribs screamed out to Nate in agony and Nate fell to his knees. They all started to kick him, but Nate grabbed a leg and swung it so the boy went off balance and fell into the others. They fell to the floor in surprise. Nate could feel the blood was running freely now, as he scrambled to get away from the boys. A hand snaked around his leg and Nate fell back down to the floor. He landed on his cast and the pain was almost as bad as when he first broke it. Nate looked around him in desperation and saw a plank of wood just outside his reach. Nate tried to crawl towards it, but the hand just tightened around his ankle.

"Not so fast, you little shit." He heard the owner of the hand around his ankle sneer and he began to pull Nate towards him where the boys were waiting to attack again. Nate desperately reached for the plank of wood, but it got further and further away. Turning towards the hand in frustration, he kicked the hands owner in the face, causing the boy to let go and grasp his nose as he shouted out in pain. Nate rapidly crawled and grabbed the plank, just as sets of hands wrapped around his back. Nate's ribs were in agony. In his last attempt to defend himself, he turned around and hit the plank of wood across the head of the closest boy. The boy fell to the ground. Nate stood up and the last boy stopped trying to attack in fear of being hit. Nate put a face to his pain and hit that boy too, just as the boy tried to get away. Nate hit them all repeatedly, his anger getting the better of him. He hit and hit, before realising what he was doing. The boys were all groaning in pain and Nate dropped the plank of wood. He grasped his bags and ran away, running back to the motel. Blood had coated his face and people were staring at him in curiosity as he ran past. He fumbled with his key in the door, before shoving the door back and running inside. He shut the door and locked it, his heart pounding. He put the food away, trying to get his heart rate back down to what was classed as a healthy speed, before going into the bathroom. Nate knew Sully always travelled with a heavily stocked first aid kit, so he pulled it out from under the sink and looked into the mirror. Smeared blood had begun to dry across his face, so much that he was barely recognisable. Nate stared at himself, before turning the tap on and cupping his hands under it. He put the water on his face and hissed in pain. Sucking in his breath, he began again. He got a little bit of the blood off and looked down to put his hands back under the water. He looked back up again and jumped in surprise when he looked into the mirror.

Sully was standing behind him, watching Nate try to clean his face free of blood. Nate put a hand over his heart. "Shit! Jesus, you scared the crap out of me!" Sully just looked at Nate before choking out his words.

"What the hell happened to you, kid?" Sully asked, his eyes portraying what he felt when looking at Nate.

"I was just attacked by these kids who wanted the food." Nate looked down, wiping his face. Sully watched Nate for a couple seconds more.

"Tilt your head back and pinch the bridge of your nose, kid. I'll wash your face." Sully grabbed a flannel and began to wash Nate's face free of blood, while Nate tried not to make any noise in pain. After a couple of minutes, Sully looked into Nate's eyes. "Is that all they did, kid?" Nate looked away, uncomfortable with the question.

"...They hit me a couple of times in the ribs. And I fell on my bad arm. And my back hurts. A lot." Nate listed, Sully listened carefully. Sully shook his head and turned to leave the room. "Wait, where are you going?" Nate asked. Sully looked over his shoulder, chuckling.

"Wait a second, kid. We're going to need backup. I can't leave you alone for one minute." Sully left the room and came back a few moments later, his hands full of snacks which he promptly gave to Nate. Nate smiled and leant back, letting Sully fix him up. Nate cautiously took a donut from the packet while Sully checked his casted arm. He put it in his mouth and his eyes lit up, his whole body straightened out, which caused Sully to move back in fear he had hurt the kid.

"What's wrong?" Sully asked, watching Nate's face.

"Nothin'" Nate replied through a mouth full of the donut he'd just shoved into his mouth. "It's jus' good."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chanté here. This is my shortest chapter to date, at only 908 words, but I thought it was past time I update the story. So please enjoy and review. Also, keep your awesome ideas coming! **

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Day fifty-eight of the Nate and Sully friendship

Sully's employer has rung Sully that morning, calling to inform him that everything had been placed together and he should begin working today. Sully went to go see him, leaving Nate at the motel with a book and a bowl of fruit. After the bowl of fruit had been vacant for a few hours, Sully returned with folders and books full of clues about his new task. Once Sully returned, Nate asked him about his new job and what he was supposed to do. "So what does Mr Shady Man actually want?" Nate asked, eyeing the stacks of paper Sully was supposed to go through. Sully handed Nate a piece of paper, indicating the picture dominating the page.

"Have you ever heard of the Oracle of Dephic?" Sully asked Nate, Nate stared at the page, trying to see if the picture or name triggered any memories.

"No." Nate replied, before adding "Oracle? As in Priest?" Sully took back the piece of paper.

"As in Priestess. The Oracle of Delphic, known as Pythia to her friends, was the most prestigious Priestess of her time. She's from Greek mythology, but apparently she was real. She told prophecies to those who would listen, and they always came true. Now, see her?" Sully handed Nate another piece of paper. The Pythia woman was sitting in a cauldron. "Myth has it, that this cauldron was the source of her power. Anyone who owns it will have the ability to foresee the future. And _that _I what Mr Shady Man is after." Nate looked up from the picture and watched Sully rush around in an attempt to organise the papers. Sully kept picking up papers, skimmed the first few lines, and then put them down again.

"How long did he give you?" Nate questioned, with Sully sparing a glance at Nate.

"A few weeks, five months tops. Any chance you read Greek, kid?" Nate's eyes widened at five months, but he kept quiet in his protest.

"Uh, crap, no." Nate realised what Sully meant. Neither of them could read Greek, so translating all the papers would probably take about five months. "Any chance any of this is written in Latin? Or, fingers crossed, English?" Nate replied, with Sully shaking his head.

"Huh. This is going to be harder than I thought."

Four hours later, Sully had successfully translated both sides of a piece of paper. Sully cried out in triumph, while Nate rolled his eyes. "Well done. Now you only have another" Nate looked down at the papers, judging how much was left "thousand papers to do. Keep up the good work." Sully's celebration cut short and he looked over the table at Nate.

"Keep raining on my parade, kid. Maybe it's high time we learnt a little Greek, eh?" Sully asked. Nate shook his head.

"How is it that you've travelled the world, and you've met so many people, yet you've never become close friends with anyone who can read Greek?" Nate asked, incredulously. Sully shrugged a reply and went back to work. Half an hour later, with Nate watching his mentor get more and more frustrated, he thought he should lend a hand. Nate picked up a few pieces of paper with his casted hand. The doctor had said that because Nate had gotten into the incident, he would have to keep his cast on for another week. This meant that in nine days, Nate was getting this dirty yet aesthetically pleasing cast off. After the incident, the only time Nate and Sully spoke about it was at the doctors. Sully just sighed and shook his head at the swelling and bruises decorating Nate's body, but didn't say another word. He was proud that the kid had stuck up for himself, probably more proud then he should have been, but he felt he was quickly discovering that Nate was a whole lot of trouble. Still, Sully was quite fond of him, so he didn't really mind. Nate stared at the papers, not really focusing, his mind busy. "Why don't you just hire someone who can read it?" Sully looked up at Nate, who had gotten up to retrieve a complimentary motel phonebook. Nate brought it over to Sully's side of the table, and Sully leant forward in his chair to get a better look. Sully appeared thoughtful while Nate opened the book.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Nate looked sideways at Sully, to see Sully was getting out his cigars.

"What is?" Nate replied, only half paying attention.

"Well, your future girlfriend or wife could be in this phonebook. Yet, you'll never know enough to find them." Sully looked down at the phonebook to see Nate was breezing through the Fs. "Her last name could be Firth of Fitzpatrick, but you'll never know enough to look for her in the phonebook until you actually meet her. That's pretty strange, don't you think?" Nate stopped and looked down at Sully.

"I'll don't think I'll ever get married. I think I have commitment issues." Nate mumbled. "Besides, my life is crap. I wouldn't want to share it with anybody. 'Cept you, of course." He smiled at Sully, and Sully chuckled.

"No, there's a dame out there that you won't be afraid to commit to, kid. You just have to find her." Nate rolled his eyes.

"Aren't you the romantic today? Here, I found someone you should hire..."


End file.
